October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and from the continued educational content that is being gathered, researchers have found evidence that CBD could reduce the progression of invasive breast cancer. According to the National Cancer Registry, 1 in 26 women are at risk of being diagnosed in their lifetime as breast cancer continues as the leading cancer affecting women in South Africa.
Once diagnosed, efforts are made to stop the cancerous tumour from spreading. If cancer spreads beyond the breast and reaches the lymph nodes, it is considered to be in the advanced stages. Once cancer is identified as advanced, it could spread to the brain, liver or lungs.
Studies show that CBD and its derivatives apply anti-invasive, anti-migratory and anti-proliferative actions, meaning CBD is able to reduce tumour size, resulting in the cancerous cells essentially killing themselves, while preventing the spreading of the tumour without damaging any healthy cells.
The acidic precursor of CBD, (CBDA) is capable of down-regulating invasive breast cancer cells and possibly slowing down tumour growth.
When it comes to treatment, most woman will opt for conventional methods such as surgery, radiation therapy, chemotherapy, immunotherapy, hormone therapy, and targeted therapy. Unfortunately, all these treatment methods come with their own set of side effects, but studies show that CBD could help with the damaged caused by most, such as body aches and chronic pain, anxiety and depression as well as insomnia. Due to its incredible anti-inflammatory properties and pain relief, CBD makes the breast cancer treatment process for many women less painful and more bearable.
Multiple studies show that cannabinoid receptors are over-expressed in breast cancer cells. This has led scientists to believe that in an innate biological effort to fight the disease, the endocannabinoid system may be up-regulated if you are fighting cancer. Once cannabinoids bind to receptors, they prevent the cell growth by minimizing the proliferation and influencing the apoptosis (killing) of cancer cells. Cannabinoids have been proven to weaken angiogenesis (increase in blood flow in localised areas caused by tumour cells) and metastasis (cancer reaching other organs.)
CBD shouldn’t be used in place of other cancer treatments as we need more rigorous studies into the potential benefits and risks of CBD, dosing, administration, and how it affects other cancer therapies. CBD may interact with other cancer therapies and should ONLY be used to help ease the side effects of cancer treatment. It is always best to chat with your doctor before taking any CBD supplements.
